Gran Fondo Bike Festival Fills Cedar Falls' Main Streets

Cedar Falls, Iowa, August 21st — They encountered less-than-ideal weather conditions, but a little wind and rain didn’t stop most of the participants in Saturday’s Gran Fondo Cedar Valley bicycle race.

Just under 260 people registered for either the 60- or 100-mile routes that started in downtown Cedar Falls at 7 a.m. Those going 100 miles passed through Denver, Elk Run Heights, Gilbertville, Waterloo, Hudson, Reinbeck, Dike and New Hartford before returning downtown. The 60-mile route went as far as Denver and then returned to Cedar Falls on bike trails.

As they finished, bicyclists checked in with Jennifer Wyatt of the Iowa Bicycle Coalition to get their time and pick up a medal if they went 100 miles. She noted participants dealt with rain at two points in the race and then faced headwinds as they returned to Cedar Falls.

“So, it’s been a super challenging day for them,” said Wyatt. The first 100-mile riders arrived shortly after 12:30 p.m. and well over half of all participants were done by 1:45 p.m. “We still have 85 riders out on the course,” she said at that point.

Shortly after, Ike Lahue of Waverly arrived downtown with a group of bicyclists who had completed the 60-mile ride. He said rain was an issue for “definitely the first half.” As far as the wind, “It wasn’t bad until the rain let up.”

“Once you get wet, you’re wet,” he observed. “So it’s no big deal. It wasn’t too bad — better than humidity.”

The coalition was partnering with Cedar Falls Community Main Street for the second annual race and FondoFest. The festival continued into the evening and was held on several closed-off blocks of Main Street along the Parkade. A beer garden, food, live music and kids area were part of the festivities.

Lahue said his group was going to hang out for a while at the festival. But they started the celebrations during their ride.

“We stopped in all of the towns, had a beer or two,” he said. “I think that’s what took so long, stopping in all the towns.”

Julie Fisher of Janesville also rode the 60-mile route. The race “went great, got a little wet but had a nice tailwind,” she said.

“It was fun,” added her friend, Penny Gerholdt of Cedar Falls. “You know what? We’ve ridden in worse conditions.”

Kenna and Jon Martinson of Cedar Falls were sitting out in front of Steege’s Meat Market, eating hamburgers. Neither participated in the biking.

“I was in the crossfit competition,” said Jon Martinson. The four-event competition got underway about 8 a.m. with teams from The Gym in Cedar Falls.

Emily Yaddof, events and promotions coordinator for Community Main Street, noted that the crossfit competition was timed for the gap when most of the bicyclists are out on the road.

“Last year was our first year,” she said. “We wanted to grow the event.” So, organizers connected with The Gym, which agreed to hold competitions downtown.

“We brought them on board and it worked really well,” said Yaddof.

Henry Scott of Waverly was on the road throughout the crossfit events, competing in the 100-mile race. Among the challenges he faced was a flat tire that caused him to wait as a repair van came to assist.

“The worst part was the wind coming home from Reinbeck,” he said, and continuing through Dike and New Hartford. “Because it was at least 20 miles an hour.”

He planned to spend some time at the festival now that ride was done.

“Need a beer after that,” said Scott.

Gran Fondo Bike Festival Fills Cedar Falls' Main Streets